A vacuum interrupter arrangement is disclosed, for example, in DE 35 29 386 A1. The first sliding contact face here is arranged on a thicker, first section and is electrically conductively connected to a second sliding contact face.
A further arrangement is disclosed, for example, in the laid-open specification DE 196 03 157 A1. The vacuum interrupter described in the laid-open specification has a switching contact. The switching contact is essentially formed from two switching contact pieces, one of the switching contact piece being movable. The movable switching contact pieces has, at its end which faces away from the switching contact, a strut which is passed in a gas-tight manner through the wall of the vacuum interrupter by means of an elastic bellows. Directly adjoining the wall which is interrupted by the movable switching contact piece is a fixed contact to which the movable switching contact piece is electrically conductively connected. For this purpose, a self-sprung contact element made of beryllium bronze is provided there and this contact element is in the form of a helical spring and extends around the strut of the movable switching contact piece. By means of the self-sprung contact element, the switching contact piece is electrically conductively connected to the fixed contact.
Such self-sprung contact elements in the form of helical springs ensure that sufficient electrical contact is made. Owing to the excellent electrical and thermal insulation of the vacuum located in the interior of the vacuum interrupter, there is essentially only the strut, which is passed to the outside, of the movable switching contact piece for the purpose of dissipating the heat produced at the contact point. The known self-sprung contact elements in the form of helical springs are, in addition to the transmission of electrical power, only suitable to a certain extent for transmitting and passing on heat to other modules. In particular in the case of the arrangement known from the laid-open specification DE 196 03 157 A1, transmission of thermal energy to the surrounding environment is only possible to a limited degree owing to the direct arrangement of the self-sprung contact elements on the vacuum interrupter.